A Christmas of Love

Smack! The constant chirping of an alarm clock echoed throughout Hannah Andrews' home. As she reached out and slapped the alarm clock for the final time, Hannah felt the weight of her dog plop onto her bed with such force. Whiskey groaned dramatically and continued to stretch himself across Hannah's bed. She sighed and threw the blankets off of her. At 5:00am the routine was the same; wake up, take the dog out, and get ready for work. Only that she was currently on leave for two weeks, it was a bit of an adjustment not to be rushing out the door at 5:30 in the morning. The house was quiet, well, at least now it was, Hannah sighed, the house was emptier now that her ex-fiance Emily, had abruptly left after the fight they had 6 months ago. Hannah shuffled to the bathroom to brush her hair and to clean up. She had long thick, red curly hair that went past her shoulders, looking like a fiery waterfall around her. She looked in the mirror and grimaced, she had bags under her eyes and with her hair an unruly mess, it looked as if a monster was staring back at her. She felt unrecognizable and overall sad, Emily had been her entire world, but sadly, that was gone now. Hannah noticed Emily's odd behavior the past few months, each day her attitude and temper got shorter and shorter. Without warning, she had found out that Emily was cheating on her. Up until their fight Hannah was never the type to be mean or violent none the less start a fight. She quickly finished brushing her teeth and headed to let Whiskey out the sliding back door. She paused for a moment to allow herself to take a breath. The early morning was crisp and had a chill to it and her warm breath left a slight fog on the sliding glass door. The leaves on the ground mixed with frost gave off an eerie vibe. As a 30-year-old combat medic for the military, she was so close to finishing her career as she was halfway through her contract. And with that plus the early morning wake-ups, the job required a lot of caffeine. Hannah walked over to her expensive coffee maker that was given to her by Emily for Christmas last year. Unfortunately, the coffee tasted bitter as if everything she touched or tasted had a negative connotation to it. She heard a loud whine which caused her to snap out of her thoughts. "Hey mama's boy." She said as she opened the door and her Great Dane skidded across the floor and jumped onto the sofa in the living room. As she looked around she felt both empty and content at the same time. Her home was new and custom built with special countertops. With a kitchen and dining room so big, it could fit a dozen people in it. But the dining room held the most memories for her. She closed her eyes and allowed her brain to let her relive the memories that came with it. She remembered the countless times Emily and her had s*x on the dining room table, the way she moaned and writhed under Hannah's body. But once again snapping back to her thoughts, the antique table now looked old and worn as if it had no purpose. "Heaven help me." Hannah groaned. It had been months since they split. The emptiness that Hannah felt now was beginning to grow and the gaping hole that Emily left felt as if it was getting bigger and bigger. With her stomach emitting a growl, Hannah knew it was time to eat breakfast which ended up consisting of a snack cake and two energy drinks. But on the brighter side with the two weeks of leave Hannah was authorized to have, she was really looking forward to Thanksgiving. Suddenly her phone began to ring and Hannah sighed when saw the caller id. It was her mother and there was no sense in avoiding her, nonetheless the looming conversation that needed to be had. She pressed the accept button and held the phone up to her ear. "Hello, ma" "Hello dear, I was afraid that something had happened to you. You haven't been answering my phone calls." Her mother stated matter of factly. Her mother Amy andrews was a mirror image of herself. "Ma, don't you know that you worry way too much?" She sighed as she began to mentally prepare herself for her mother's lecture. "Well honey, you come back from deployments and then poof you just disappear." "Ma, I am allowed to relax a little bit before it is considered disappearing. I know that my career causes you and Daddy grief." Hannah said as she finished up making Whiskey's breakfast. Hannah then began to eat her own breakfast, stuffing the snackcake into her mouth. "Are you at least taking care of yourself dear?" Her mother asked. "I am, I'm actually eating breakfast right now." Hannah heard her mother sigh. Her mother had her own opinions about her career. But then again Hannah was never pushed to have a cushy life or a particular career. She chose the exhilarating life mixed with danger that came with being a combat medic. "Earth to Hannah?" Her mother called out. "Yes ma'am?" "I asked if you were going to bring Emily to our Thanksgiving party." Her mother asked. And just like that it was as if a bullet had gone straight into her chest.